HOSEOK :

Hoseok bumped into someone in his haste to reach for his horse. Not caring who was in the way or if someone fell, he hoisted himself up and pulled on the reigns, the Horse neighing loudly, lifting its front legs in the air, then hitting the ground in a dead run.

The rider of the horse was someone who did not recognise anything, was someone who did not even see anything except the narrow path he knew he had to take, to reach his Gazelle before it was too late.

Before, she left him alone forever.

That thought sent fresh panic down his spine.

No. no. She could not die. She could not leave him!

Her beautiful smile came to his mind as he blindly whipped the animal into running faster. The beautiful smile, that he could not see ever again?

Hoseok. . . . . please don't go

I don't feel right. I truly don't.

The General's wild eyes covered itself with a translucent film of water when his memory of her soft, pleading entreaty flashed before his eyes.

Why had he not listened to her?? Why??

With desperation of a dying man, he rode harder than he ever had.

He needed to save her.

He had to save her.

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ANYA :

Hoon Chul staggered away from her then stumbled and fell down on the floor, his eyes stuck to the protruding hilt of dagger from his chest.

Outside, the guards moved away, the sounds of their boots thudding down audible. Distant sounds of metal scrapping against metal started getting heavier in intensity, reaching the two wounded bodies lying inside the beautifully decorated room of a beautiful wooden Inn.

In a daze, Hoon Chul registered the sounds, understanding his spies being killed by Hoseok's men. Registering, that all of his carefully thought-out plans of long were coming apart completely. Realizing, that he was losing.

Trusting, caring for a girl, caused his entire life's goal to shatter. Just in one act, one, act of kindness, the person who he had wanted to bring to justice his entire life was not going to be free.

Kindness, in the end, killed him.

It was painful, it was corrosively painful how close he had come to see Hoseok die the most degrading death. Still, even if he died, at least his dream was still intact.

Slow chuckles came from him turning into sarcastic laughter when he grasped one flaw.

"Princess," he said through his pain, "I admit, you did defeat me. How can I not acknowledge it? But, the situation still remains the same." He looked at Anya, who was struggling to sit up, the robe she wore dyed red on the side, the floor slowly getting soaked in the scarlet liquid.

"Even if you and I die tonight, even if all my men die, the Prince will still be able to send Hoseok to his planned death by charging him of High Treason.

It will still be easy to show the King of Jeogdal your birthmark. With both of us dead, do you think an accused General's word will hold up against a Prince's?"

Anya ignored all that he was saying, breathing through the sharp pain of the knife still embedded in her. She moved bit by bit, crawling on the ground, going towards her target.

Hoon Chul watched curiously, having accepted his fate, as the Princess slowly, painfully moved towards the rack in the middle holding many small earthen lamps.

As he saw Anya reach out towards the rack, his senses finally recognized the faint smell he had registered the second he had entered the room, underlying the heavy fragrance of incense sticks.

"No! NO! You cannot!" he breathed, disbelief a word which was far removed from what he felt when he saw her push the rack to the ground.

This could not happen!!! He refused to believe that everything he had so carefully planned for, was going to be drowned away by a girl!!!

The lamps crashed on the floor, shattering, but the fire, caught on. In a trail of stream, it raced down the floor and spread to the corners of the room, in moments climbing the walls and surrounding the entire room from with.

Oil. She had spilled oil everywhere before he came.

Anya gave a relieved sigh at being able to complete her work and lay back down on the floor.

Hoon Chul saw the fires gaining strength, the wood starting to catch on. His mind blank, he saw the dancing, gorgeous orange and yellow flames and heard her voice,

"But if my birthmarks cant be seen? Then what?" Anya asked silently, "Do you think the Prince will be able to make a claim on the most powerful man in this Kingdom without any support from Hoseok's men betraying him, or without the body that can prove his claim of a Princess being imprisoned?"

Anya smiled, "Without my body, all this night will be converted into, will be Hoseok's brave brother dying to save his wife when the Inn unexpectedly caught a fire, but tragically dying along with her.

That is all.

The Prince, will never be able to touch My General. Let alone dream about destroying him the way he had planned. My Hoseok, will never die the way you dared to fantasize about. Never."

Hoon Chul coughed from the smoke starting to fill the room, "You would rather die such a horrific death rather than live the life of a Princess?" He truly could not wrap his head around what had transpired.

Both of them lay on the floor as the fire spread wildly, making fearsome sounds, the air getting stiflingly hot. Unbearably so.

Not waiting for the answer, he coughed and said, "I wont. I wont die in such a painful way."

No! Even if the disbelief and rage were present, Hoon Chul did not want to be completely defeated by this whorish girl.

She had utterly collapsed his goal of life, taken away all his efforts, then gifted him with death. But he refused for her to be successful in making him die in this way, the worst possible way.

Like the trained soldier that he was, he grasped the dagger from his chest and ripped it free from his body, jerking in pain, "Regrets cannot describe what I feel." His breathing was slowing from the blood he had lost, "Nor will I even care to learn why you did this today. But I am not angry, nor do I want revenge because I will follow you Princess. I will follow you in death, or life. And the next time, I will be the one to kill you."

He laughed with all the bitterness he felt and vowed, "Just like what you did to me, I will hurt you the most where it will count. Your death will be painful, and it will come from me!"

Saying so, Hoon Chul did not wait to be burned alive. He grasped the dagger firmly in his hand and stabbed himself in his neck with it, bleeding out in moments, leaving Anya in the room of fire to die alone.

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HOSEOK :

Will you not tell me your name?

Hoseok's eyes kept seeing the vision in white, kneeling before the injured him who kept asking that question. That was his Gazelle. The day he had met her. . . .

The city kept flashing by, his breakneck speed not stopping. He needed to get to her quicker, much quicker than needed.

The first letter had outlined the conspiracy against him, while the second letter was unbearable.

Thinking about it made bile rush up to his mouth. His body was cold, icy cold while he knew it was a futile effort of trying but his terrified heart could not give up.

He was almost to the part of Inn. He was almost there.

His love, his pure love who accepted him since the beginning, refusing to let him think wrong even for himself. Memories of the times of her smiling face, of her gentle eyes, of her forgiving touch flowed through his mind, pulling him in a whirlpool of anguish.

"Dark and savage you may be, but evil, you are not."

"I don't hate you Hoseok, I will never hate you"

"Will you not introduce me to pleasure?"

"Gazelle or Goddess? Both are too extreme General!"

"I can only hope, with time, I might become a person who will not only be able to accept your darkness, but also know how not to want to change you."

Tears started trailing down his eyes unseen, as a man on the verge of a complete breakdown, a man, who was losing his entire world suppressed his heart breaking sorrow and terror, as he tried his best to go to the love who was going to leave him behind.

Anya's words rang in his ears, every syllable wrapping itself around him with thorns that hurt him in a phantom pain which he refused to endure.

He wanted her soft arms around him! He needed to kiss those cherry sweet lips, he needed her fragrance to be surrounding him completely!

The hooves of his horse made a violent noise as the rider urged him forward through the cityin hysterical speed. When he knew he was near the lodging, with his heart lodged in his throat and dread in his eyes, he looked up.

He looked up, to see from afar, a huge fire raging the Inn where he had left Anya behind.

His love, was dying.

While his body became unresponsive, stuck with absolute horror at the sight, Anya's sweet voice rang in his ears.

I wont leave. The day I break my promise will be the day you know that I have died. I wont leave you.

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ANYA :

Anya coughed violently, the soot and smoke from the room making her dizzy. She could feel the heat of the flames slowly approaching her, but she had no strength left in her to do anything about it.

Closing her eyes, she lay there quietly amid the crackling, loud flames engulfing her surroundings. This would be last vision before she died.

The more she inhaled, the more dizzy she became. It became difficult to remember to loosen the tie of her robe but somehow, she did. Those marks needed to be burnt. Her body, needed to burn before the building made of wood collapsed, hiding her from the flames.

Hoseok. . . . .

His name a prayer in her mind, his memory a smile on her lips, she questioned her fate. If they were meant to meet, only to part, why were they born?

He would be crushed, would he not?

Anya felt a few drops of tear silently fall from her eyes. Why did she not know, the morning would be the last time she felt his kiss? Why could she not feel his embrace one last time?

Why was she being parted from him?

WHY??

Her tears kept falling harder, while the flames too consumed the room.

Please, please God, to whoever is listening, please, can I not hear his voice once more before I leave?

An insane prayer screamed in her heart, the gut wrenching desire to rush to him and hold him close. To wake up any time now and laugh at this being a nightmare. Then she would find him still wrapped up around her. He would soothe her, kiss her to calm her down and she would let him.

The flames reached closer, breaking away the fantasy that would not come true.

Her life was ending.

She would never see him again. And that knowledge caused her more pain than the agonising hot air suffocating her.

Darkness slowly spread before her eyes in a room which was more brighter than the sun, her consciousness slowly slipping away. At the very verge of her death, she faintly hear a scream of utter desolation.

"ANYA!!!! NO! NO! YOU PROMISED! YOU PROMISED ME!!"

Her tears mixed with the smile as the flames reached her body, catching on to the robe.

It seems, her General had come. He kept his promise. He did come when she missed him.

Happiness at his voice being the last thing she heard in this life spread, before the darkness completely took over.

In the wooden Inn, the flames of death slowly blanketed the purity of the girl who had dared to love a Dark General fiercely in her life.

It claimed the body of the soul who died with a smile to protect her Love.

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HOSEOK :

As more and more people gathered around the huge structure set ablaze, lighting the night in sky high flames, eight men did their best to keep an insane man from dashing inside the fire.

"SHE IS THERE! SHE IS IN THERE! SHE WILL BURN!!" Hoseok shouted, struggling against Ha-Ru and his men, "LET ME GO! CANT YOU SEE THE FIRE????"

"No General! She is dead! Stop! Please stop!" Ha-Ru cried, hugging the torso of the general, trying to keep him from rushing inside.

"NO!! SHE IS WAITING FOR ME! SHE IS WAITING IN OUR ROOM! LET ME GO!!" He drew out his sword and clashed it hard with whoever battled with him, like a wild animal he tried to lose the hands which restricted him, "SHE PROMISED ME!"

Ha-Ru snatched the sword away, punching the raging, mad man who refused to go down, "SHE DIED FOR YOU! SHE IS DEAD HOSEOK! DON'T DISRESPECT HER SACRIFICE!"

"SHUT UP!! SHUT UP!!!" Hoseok kicked the man away, screaming in pain and disbelief, he shook away every single of the men holding him down, running towards the fiery building.

Before he could go even a few steps, Ha-Ru jumped at him, knocking him down on the ground.

Hoseok did not try to fight him. instead, he started crawling on the dirt, clawing the ground to push himself forward, taking the man on top of him with him, "ANYA!!!! NO! NO! YOU PROMISED! YOU PROMISED ME!!"

"Stop please General." Ha-Ru was crying as he clung to his cousin, "Stop."

The surrounding crowd silently saw the raw pain of a mighty unbeatable General who could not accept the death of his love right in front of him.

"SHE IS RIGHT THERE! RIGHT THERE!!" Hoseok screamed. He screamed without any dignity, he screamed with a pain that made people flinch on hearing it, "Her skin is too delicate Ha-Ru, it will hurt. The flames are too strong. She is scared, she must be calling my name!" his hoarse voice felt like shards of glass.

Hoseok kept crawling, his skin dirtied by the mud, his clothes getting torn, his nails breaking and bleeding, "Please! She is waiting for me!! She is-"

Suddenly, with effort he jerked Ha-Ru off him, crawling and getting up, "YOU CANNOT LEAVE ME! YOU TOLD ME WE WILL LIVE FAR AWAY!" Hoseok collapsed when few men held him back, "Anya! Anya you were. . . . you were supposed to wait for me to arrive. . . ." he brokenly whispered.

"Forgive me." Ha-Ru sobbed as he used a stone nearby to smash it at the neck of the General, who tolerated the blow and stopped, but his eyes still kept looking at the building which started ominously creaking.

Hoseok's eyes closed when the building collapsed in front of him, with the knowledge, that the woman he loved remained separated from him with just a few meters in front.

His hands reached out to the building, while unknown to him, the body of the burnt girl too had her hand extended in his direction.

The distance between those two hands, was destined to never close.

Those hands yearning for each other, would never meet again.

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